"You walk in and there's the 'wow' factor … it just takes a little bit of creativity and imagination to make it fun."

The pop-up series launched in Melbourne on Thursday and will eventually travel to London and New York.

Mr Tikos, who will man the stores, said the events would be a rare chance for him to meet his readers in person. He also plans to launch an online store at thecoolhunter.net in February featuring many of the same products.

Mr Tikos launched his website eight years ago as an offshoot of a magazine column.

The former band manager and literary agent now divides his time between Sydney and New York.

With no formal qualifications in art or design, Mr Tikos said much of his success had been accidental.

"I started at an earlier time and I think [my blog] aesthetically just looks better.

''It pops out, with nice colours and graphics, and I have a lot of exclusive content."

Despite Mr Tikos's international following, including 180,000 monthly blog readers and 35,000 newsletter subscribers in Australia, he rejects any suggestion he is a trendsetter.

"It's just more what inspires me and if I think, 'That looks great', I'll write about it."